Fred Hersch – born on October 21, 1955 in Cincinnati, Ohio – is a 15-time Grammy-nominated jazz pianist, composer, and educator.; known for adding classical music influences into his playing. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including the 2016 and 2018 Jazz Pianist of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association, and the 2017 Prix Honorem de Jazz from L’Académie Charles Cros. An innovative, unusually expressive pianist and eloquent composer, Fred Hersch has also made a considerable mark as an educator and as jazz's first openly gay, HIV positive artist, unafraid to voice his opinions, campaigning passionately and fund-raising for AIDS charities. His commercial profile rose in 1978 when he played with Art Farmer and went on to accompany singer Chris Connor and work in a duo with bass player Ratso Harris. Fred Hersch joined forces with drummer Joey Baron and double bassist Marc Johnson to form the Fred Hersch Trio and released their first album, Horizons, in 1985. Although the line-up has remained fluid throughout their career, the Fred Hersch Trio has continued to release albums alongside Hersch’s solo releases and other collaborations. The Fred Hersch Trio’s catalog includes Heartsongs (1990), the Grammy-nominated Dancing in the Dark (1993), Night & the Music (2007), Everybody’s Song But My Own (2011), the Grammy-nominated Floating (2014), Live in Europe (2018), and the compilation 10 Years/6 Discs (2019). Fred Hersch, both with his trio and without, has become a major influence on a new generation of jazz musicians.
